News
Spain's Ordóñez renews call for government action
Bank of Spain governor urges government to stick to target of reducing budget deficit to 5.3% in 2012; highlights work done on banking reform
SNB unveils new governing board
Swiss National Bank confirms Thomas Jordan as chairman of the governing board; plans for stricter rules governing private financial transactions by SNB staff are also revealed
BoE’s Posen causes stir with vote switch
External MPC member abandons pro-QE stance; inflation concerns high among rate-setters, with Paul Tucker taking vocal lead
India slashes benchmark rate
Reserve Bank of India drops repo rate to 8% in first cut in years; governor references slowing growth and declining inflation in announcing decision
Hoenig joins FDIC board
Former Kansas City Fed president Thomas Hoenig joins the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Norway set to shift investment strategy after poor SWF performance
Norway sovereign wealth fund to focus on emerging markets following third-worst performance in history last year
IMF warns of 'full-blown panic' eurozone break-up would cause
Latest IMF World Economic Outlook discusses possibility of a break-up of the eurozone; says disorderly exit of one member country would have untold knock-on effects
Central Bank of Iran reacts to major debit card security breach
Central Bank of Iran urges debit card users to change personal identification codes after hacker publishes security details of millions of accounts on internet
Reserve managers cling to the dollar but shun the euro, CBP survey finds
Central banks have reduced their euro reserve holdings and looked to diversify into non-traditional currencies due to ongoing eurozone tumult finds annual Central Banking Publications survey
CPSS and Iosco set out central bank responsibilities for FMIs
CPSS and Iosco issue new standards for financial market infrastructures; include core responsibilities for central banks and other supervisory bodies
Bernanke defends Fed’s response to financial crisis
Fed chairman defends actions taken before and during global financial crisis; offers justification for Fed response to struggling systemically important firms
PBoC decision to widen trading band welcomed
Chinese central bank announces “enlarged” floating band of renminbi trading prices against the US dollar; analysts and IMF welcome decision
Bank of Korea to invest in renminbi in 2012
Head of reserve management Heung Sik Choo confirms Bank of Korea will make first investments in Chinese renminbi this year
Sarb investigation finds low-quality proof Krugerrand coins
Investigation into SA Mint Company uncovers low-quality proof Krugerrand coins may have been casted between April 2011 and May 2011; dealers offered chance to return coins
Reserve Bank of India writes to banks about electronic payments
Indian central bank asks banks to accept electronic transfers for credit to loan accounts, following complaints from customers
Basel Committee highlights resource challenges in stress testing
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision releases peer review of implementation of stress-testing principles; reveals resource concerns at both banks and supervisory level
Riksbank establishes financial stability communication policy
Swedish central bank publishes new financial stability communications policy; supplements the general policy in place at the Riksbank
Plosser says more 'can and should be done' to aid Fed transparency
Philadelphia Fed president urges the Federal Reserve to do more on transparency; says a quarterly monetary policy report should be published
Currency floor breach raises questions over SNB policy
The Swiss National Bank should consider enlisting the help of top-tier banks to keep EUR/CHF above 1.20, forex traders suggest
Asmussen offers ECB's take on Irish path to recovery
Jörg Asmussen says Ireland has come a long way but still has work to do; expresses confidence further emergency support from eurozone will not be necessary
'Heavy' gold purchases expected to continue in 2012
GFMS report says emerging economies will continue to turn to gold as they diversify reserves away from US dollar; "trivial" official sector gold sales recorded in 2011
Lagarde hopes for progress on IMF resource increase
IMF managing director sets out hopes for Spring Meetings; wants to see increase in resources and emerging market representation reform agreements
Norges Bank withdraws coin from circulation
Norwegian central bank issues reminder that 50-øre coin will no longer be legal tender after May 1; urges public to spend or exchange the coins ahead of that date
Malaysia announces circulation date for new banknotes
Bank Negara Malaysia reveals new banknotes will enter into circulation in July this year; work being carried out to ensure “smooth transition” in the country